89 foreigners linked to POGO, scam hubs deported

At least 89 foreigners who are allegedly involved in a scam hub in the Philippines have been deported, according to the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC).

According to Saleema Refran’s Thursday report on “24 Oras,” 77 Vietnamese and 12 South Koreans were deported as part of PAOCC’s efforts to decogest its detention facility in Pasay City, as some are getting sick and in compliance with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s order to hasten the deportation of arrested foreigners.

“Yung temporary detention center natin dito sa Pasay kasi almost 800 pa rin po yung nakakulong natin diyan. And kailangan bawasan na natin. So unti-unti, last month nakapag-deport na rin po kami ng 100 plus and now magde-deport po tayo ng 120 plus,” PAOCC executive director Gilbert Cruz said.

(We have almost 800 foreigners in our detention center in Pasay, and we need to decrease the population. So last month, we deported over 100 foreigners, and we will deport 120 more foreigners.)

Some foreigners will also be deported this month, depending on the Bureau of Immigration’s release of documents and clearances from the National Bureau of Investigation.

Cruz also attended the dialogue between the Philippines and the Criminal Police Department of Vietnam to strengthen the cooperation of the two countries in the fight against illegal offshore gaming and related crimes. — Mariel Celine Serquiña/BAP, GMA Integrated News